Citi Prestige® Card is offering 50,000 bonus points after $4,000 in purchases made with your card in the first 3 months of account opening. This includes the $250 Air Travel Credit. As a cardholder, you’ll also get complimentary access to hundreds of VIP lounges through Priority Pass Select.
You can actually earn more for your points by using Citi’s transfer partners which would increase your average to 1.7 cents per point.
The card has no foreign transaction fees on purchases. You’ll earn 5x points on Air Travel and Restaurants, 3x points on Hotels and Cruise Lines, and 1 ThankYou Point per $1 spent on other purchases. No expiration and no limit on the number of points you can earn. However, there is a hefty annual fee of $495.
*Check out more Checking bonuses Citibank offers as well.
Citi Prestige® Card Features
Bonus Available | 50,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 within the first 3 months. |
Bonus Value* | $850 |
Travel Credit | $250 travel credit every calendar year |
Ongoing Rewards/Benefits |
5 points per $1 spent on Air Travel and Restaurants. |
Foreign Transaction Fees | No |
Airport Lounge Access | Over 1,200 lounges worldwide with a free Priority Pass Select membership. |
Annual Fee | $495 |
Priority Pass Airport Lounges
Priority Pass is the best all-around program that gives you airport lounge access, with over 1,200 locations available worldwide. The membership level that is complimentary with the Citi Prestige Card is the Priority Pass Select, which is equivalent to the Prestige membership level when purchased directly through Priority Pass. This is a $429 value (discounted rate here), which helps to offset the $495 annual fee by a little.
While many major airports in the U.S. have lounges in the program (e.g. JFK, LAX, ATL, ORD, etc.), many also do not. Luckily, the worldwide footprint is massive, where relaxation in lounges abroad benefit the most.
You can look on their website or mobile app to find all the current locations.
Get $250 In Air Travel Credit Annually
If you travel at all during the year, you’re probably going to use up this benefit and essentially cut out more than half of the annual fee. Every year, you’ll receive $250 in Air Travel Credit that will be automatically applied to flight related expenses charged to your card.
This perk applies to a broad array of travel expenses. It includes purchases from airlines, hotels, car rental agencies, travel agencies/travel aggregators/tour operators, commuter transportation, ferries, commuter railways, subways, taxis/limousines/car services, passenger railways, cruise lines, bridge and road tolls, parking lots/garages, and bus lines.
For frequent travelers who will take advantage of the lounge access and air travel credit to use towards any of the things listed above, the $495 annual fee will already be more than negated.
4th Hotel Night Complimentary
When you book through the Citi Prestige Concierge, you’ll get a free 4th night stay at any hotel of your choice after a minimum 4-consecutive night booking. The benefit will be calculated as the average nightly rate of your total stay, not including taxes.
This is certainly a good perk if you travel often and stay at luxury hotels. However, your options for booking through the concierge are by calling in or emailing them. There’s no streamlined web interface for price comparison versus booking through the hotel itself, or through travel sites like Priceline or Agoda.
Regardless, if you’re staying somewhere that is $300+ a night, it may be worth checking the price through the concierge to compare with your outside booking options.
*Beginning September 1, 2019, this benefit will be capped at 2 times, each year. Bookings made prior to 9/01/19 will not count towards the two-stay cap in 2019.
Additional Benefits
No Foreign Transaction Fee: Purchases made outside the U.S. will not incur any foreign transaction fees.
Citi Prestige Concierge: Personalized requests and assistance is available when help is needed with anything from booking travel and hotel to finding the nearest ATM.
Purchase and Travel Benefits: Travel protection includes worldwide car rental insurance, roadside assistance, travel & emergency assistance, worldwide travel accident insurance, trip cancellation & interruption protection, lost baggage protection, trip delay protection, and baggage delay protection. Purchase protection includes damage and theft purchase protection, extended warranty coverage, missed event ticket protection, and Citi’s Price Rewind service.
Bottom Line
Is the Citi Prestige® Card worth the $495 fee? If you consider the 50,000 bonus points, $250 in Air Travel credit, the Global Entry waiver, and other perks like 4th night free at any hotel stay, you could make back the value of the annual fee and more in the first year.
Whether you’re a big spender or do a lot of traveling, the Citi Prestige® Card is something to consider with its first-class benefits for your first-class lifestyle! If you’re interested in more deals like this, check out our list of Citibank Promotions and the best Credit Card Bonuses, here on HMB!
What’s The Competition?
Most would say the Chase Sapphire Reserve is one of the best, if not the best, premium credit card options available.
The other big player is The Platinum Card from American Express. This card earns rewards faster than its competitors on flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel. You’ll also get more lounge access that includes The Centurion, International American Express, Delta Sky Club, and Airspace Lounges networks, as well as the Priority Pass Select membership. However, one big pitfall for international travelers is going to be the lack of American Express acceptance in many locations abroad.
The Chase Sapphire Reserve offers 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $900 toward travel when you redeem through Chase TravelSM. You'll earn • 5x total points on flights and 10x total points on hotels and car rentals when you purchase travel through Chase Travel immediately after the first $300 is spent on travel purchases annually. • 3x points on other travel and dining • 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases Get 50% more value when you redeem your points for travel through Chase Travel. This card does carry a $550 annual fee and there are no foreign transaction fees. However, you're able to earn a $300 Annual Travel Credit as reimbursement for travel purchases charged to your card each account anniversary year & up to $100 application fee credit for Global Entry or TSA Pre?®. Member FDIC |
The Platinum Card® from American Express offers 80,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $8,000 on purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. You'll earn: • 5X Membership Rewards Points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year. • 5X Membership Rewards Points on prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel. This card comes with an annual fee of $695 (See Rates & Fees), but you cardholders can enjoy Uber VIP status and up to $200 in Uber savings on rides in the US annually. Uber Cash and Uber VIP status is available to Basic Card Member and Additional Centurion Cards only. Terms Apply. Terms Apply. |
The editorial content on this page is not provided by any of the companies mentioned, and has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities. Opinions expressed here are author’s alone.
JD says
This card no longer give access to the AA Admirals Club